When It All Began
Tanya and John Skelton had three beautiful little boys together: Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner, who were 9, 7, and 5 years old at the time. They seemed like the perfect family, but they were far from perfect.
In 2010, Tanya and John were going through a rough patch. They weren't yet divorced, but Tanya was planning on leaving John as soon as she got everything in order.
Small Town, Big Problems
The family lived in Morenci, Michigan, a small, quiet town that is perfect for families. Nothing bad ever happened in Morenci, until the boys went missing.
But as Tanya and John's relationship began to crumble, John told Tanya that he wanted to leave Michigan and move back to his home town in Florida, which Tanya did not like.
Red Flags
After Tanya told John that she did not want to move to Florida, John attempted to take their three children with him there without Tanya's permission.
Tanya received a call from the boys' school claiming that John had taken the kids because they were traveling to Florida. She panicked and quickly contacted an attorney to help her locate John and the boys.
Acting Fast
Tanya's attorney told her that the only way she could stop John from taking the boys to Florida was to immediately file for divorce and request emergency custody of the children, which she did.
Because of this, it was now illegal for John to take the kids out of the state. John still tried to take them and even went into their family home to look for the boys' birth certificates and other documents.
Getting Away With It
Even though Tanya had done the right thing, John still took off with the kids and their documents. This would allow him to enroll them in a school in Florida, which had been his goal all along.
John's plan was to take the boys and start their lives over in Florida, away from Tanya. However, he did not anticipate how hard Tanya would fight to get her kids back.
Going To Court
Tanya took this matter to court just like any other concerned parent would. John was forced to appear in court and return to Michigan, where Tanya was awarded full custody of the children.
Even after what John had done, Tanya still wanted to keep things civil between her and John for the children's sake, so she allowed him to visit the boys every week. Sadly, she would later regret this decision.
Co-Parenting
John and Tanya decided to co-parent and even moved two blocks aways from each other. John would take the children on weekends while Tanya retained custody of them during the week.
For two whole months, this arrangement seemed to work. John tried to get back together with Tanya several times but after she rejected his advances one too many times, his attitude changed completely.
Things Start To Crumble
The week before Thanksgiving 2010, the friendly relationship between Tanya and John began to fall apart. They had agreed that the children would spend Thanksgiving with him and stay until Friday evening, but that changed.
The two had an argument over the phone which resulted in Tanya telling John that he had to bring the kids back on Friday at 3:00pm and not a minute later. Sadly, he would break this promise.
The Last Goodbye
Tanya brought the kids to John that Wednesday and expected to have them back home on Friday. This would be the last time Tanya would see her precious little boys.
On Thursday, however, the couple had an argument on the phone yet again. John desperately wanted to get back together with Tanya but she refused and hung up the phone. The next day would be the worst day of her life.
Acting Shady
That Friday, Tanya called John and asked him if he could bring the boys back earlier than 3:00pm, but he told her they weren't home. Since they lived two blocks away from each other, she could see his car parked on his driveway from her window.
This meant that, for some reason, John was lying. She got a bad feeling in her stomach and decided to ask her lawyer for advice. He told her that she should just wait until 3:00pm to avoid any unnecessary conflicts.
Regrets
Tanya did exactly what her lawyer told her to do, but in her heart, she knew that something was wrong. She would later come to regret her decision, even though she did what she thought was right.
As she feared, John did not bring the kids back at 3:00, so she called him several times until he picked up. He claimed that he actually wasn't with the kids at all and that he had left them with a friend of his named Joanne Taylor, a name Tanya had never heard before.
Joanne Taylor
At first, John told Tanya that he had the kids, but a couple hours later, he completely changed his story and claimed that the kids were with a complete stranger, Joanne. Still, he told Tanya not to worry because Joanne had promised to bring the kids back as soon as possible.
Morenci was a small town, yet nobody knew who Joanne Taylor was. Tanya kept calling John on the phone and when he finally picked up, he told her another crazy story: he was driving to Ohio, alone, to get to a hospital.
Nothing Makes Sense
Not a word that came out of John's mouth could be trusted at this point. From one day to the next, the kids were missing and were supposedly with a stranger called Joanne, and John was somehow driving all the way to Ohio for no apparent reason.
John told Tanya on the phone that he was going to a hospital in Ohio because he had injured his foot, but he told the hospital staff a very different story.
Different Stories
When John arrived at the hospital, he told the doctors he had tried to hang himself. Because of this, he was placed on psychiatric hold. At this point, Tanya was still waiting for this "Joanne" to show up with the kids.
She could not wait any longer and contacted the police. An officer was sent to Ohio to check on John and get his story straight, but this would prove impossible.
Putting John On The Spot
Getting the truth out of John would forever be impossible because all he did was lie and change his story. He told the police officer that he had no information on Joanne Taylor other than her Facebook profile and that he had no idea where the children and Joanne were.
The police officer asked him the same question anyone in their right mind would ask: why did he leave the kids with this mysterious person if he barely knew her?
Making A 'Confession'
John told the police officer that he left the children with Joanne because he needed to be alone. He had been struggling to get a job, his marriage had fallen apart, and he just had no will to live anymore.
So what was his brilliant idea? He wanted to end his life but did not want to do it in front of the boys. So, he called his friend Joanne to take the boys away while he did what he had to do. Somehow, instead of calling the police, Joanne agreed.
Going To Florida
According to John, Joanne was supposed to drive the kids from Michigan all the way to his parents' house in Florida. His story was completely crazy, but the police had to investigate his story nonetheless.
An amber alert was issued and the search for the boys began. Because of John's story, the police had to search for them not only in Michigan, but also in Ohio and Florida.
Searching The House
While some police officers were searching for the boys, others headed to John's house with a warrant to look for clues there. What they found in that home was completely unexpected.
The house was completely trashed. The door was nailed shut, all the furniture was broken, and even the mattresses were cut open. Whoever destroyed everything in the house had to be completely unhinged.
What Was Found
Despite the complete chaos that was the inside of the house, the police managed to recover a few items of interest: rope, a noose, and bleach. To anyone with at least basic knowledge of crime scenes, this looked extremely alarming.
When asked about this, John said he had no idea how the bleach and cleaning products got there, and that the noose and rope where there for a 'project'. Needless to say, the police did not believe him.
More Clues
John's cellphone records were retrieved and it was discovered that he had left Michigan at around 4:00am on Friday and headed to Holiday City, Ohio. By 6:00am, he was back home. What he did during those two hours is a mystery.
Sadly, nobody had seen John nor the boys in Ohio, so there were no witnesses. However, John's parents revealed an interesting piece of information that helped police understand John better.
Running Out Of Time
John's parents had given John a deadline to come back to Florida, alone, and live with them. He had no job, his relationship with Tanya wasn't working out, and they wanted him to start his life over.
They told him he had to make a decision by that same Wednesday when Tanya last saw the kids. John probably felt that he was running out of time and options, so he panicked. If he admitted defeat and moved in with his parents, he would never get Tanya and custody of the kids back.
Speculation
After feeling trapped, John probably lost control, trashed the house, and did something to the children. Although this theory made sense, it was only that: a theory. The police needed to find proof before they could do anything else.
Basically everyone in Morenci helped with the search and the police used every resource they had, but the boys couldn't be found anywhere. Not even a little, tiny piece of evidence could be found.
Changing His Story
When John was questioned by the police once more, he now claimed he had no recollection of what had happened that night. He didn't even remember driving to Ohio!
One good thing that happened for the case was that, after John was released from the hospital, he got arrested. While he was in jail and the police continued to search for the boys, John talked to a pastor and made some strange statements.
'Bringing Them Home'
While talking to a pastor in jail, he told her that 'he had taken the boys home'. This bizarre statement made the pastor think the worst. What did he mean by 'home'?
Many people believe that this was a secret confession and that he meant he had killed the boys. Of course, this does not count as evidence, so the police could not do anything about it.
The Truth About Joanne
Joanne Taylor could not be found anywhere, and you know why? Because she was never real. The FBI were able to figure out that it had been John who created her Facebook profile, so she was most likely not real at all.
This only made things more clear: John could not be trusted. His story changed multiple times, and all that came out of his mouth were lies. He was the prime suspect in this case and, sadly, it wasn't likely that the boys would be found alive, given the evidence found at John's house.
No Murder Charges
Sadly, even though the most likely situation was that John hurt the boys and managed to hide all the evidence, the police could not charge him with murder. However, they did have a card up their sleeve.
It was clear that John had lied to the police, and even if he hadn't hurt the boys, they were still under his care when they disappeared. The police did have enough evidence to charge him with false imprisonment and kidnapping.
Changing His Story... Again
Because the whole Joanne Taylor situation turned out to be a lie, John changed his story yet again. This time, he actually admitted to having the boys and handing them over to someone else.
He claimed that the gave the boys to a 'secret underground Amish group' that supposedly takes children away from bad families and gives them a better life. According to him, he did it because he was afraid Tanya would hurt them.
Ridiculous Claims
This story was so ridiculous that even the judge couldn't listen to John anymore. After a long trial, he was sentenced to ten to fifteen years in prison on false imprisonment charges in 2011.
John still maintains this story about the Amish group and refuses to give any information on the location of the boys. Sadly, even though the police have been continuously searching for them for almost ten years, they have never been found. This is what they would look like today.
Things Might Change
The police have been trying to find evidence to charge John with murder, but after ten years, they've found nothing. Not only that, but John might be released from prison next year on parole.
This could mean that John would be a free man and the kids would still be missing. Meanwhile, Tanya keeps searching for her precious boys. What do you think? Do you think John's guilty?